Method of making tile.



0. METZNER. METHOD OF MAKING TILE.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- IJllU I .Pl II n V r v w m z a M 2 v /0 a M 2 t D F mW w m A 0 m u P A n THE NORRIS PETERS CQ. PHDTO-LITHO.. WASHING TON D.C.

0. METZNER.

METHOD OF MAKING TILE.

v APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25 19l 3. 1 1%1 1 84 Patented June 1, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- i arena ornrbn.

OTTO METZNER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIG'NOR TO THE ROOKWOOD POTTERYCOMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OI-IIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

METHOD OF MAKING TILE.

1,1a1,1aa.

Application filed November 25, 19 13.

T all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, O'rro METZNER, a cit1-zen of the United States, and a resident of 3 the city of Cincinnati, inthe county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Methods of Making Tile, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

Heretofore in glazing tile particularly made by the semi-dry dustprocess, it has not been found practicable to apply the glaze until theclay has been given a preliminary firing, then the glaze material isapplied to the tile after firing, and another firing is necessary. Whenthe glaze is applied, a number of coats of glaze may have to be given,with drying between each operation, so that the manufacture of glazedtile is a matter of considerable expense in the necessary manualhandling of the tile and the repeated drying necessary.

It is the object of my invention to obviate the necessity of this manuallabor and the cost of one firing in the kiln by so applying the glaze tothe clay before it is compressed into the final shape in the press, thatglaze and tile may be molded in the press simul taneously in thesemi-dry state and the tile with its glazed surface manufactured infinished condition with one firing in the kiln.

My invention consists in my novel method of treatment whereby therelations of the glaze and the clay both in the loose and comparativelydry state are maintained without disturbance from air bubbles and thelike when the layers of clay and glaze are simultaneously compressed inthe die and also in my novel construction and arrangement of apparatuswhereby glazed and other tile are accomplished.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved press. Fig.2 is a top plan view with the plunger and screw removed. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of the sieve for the glaze. Fig. 1 is a centralvertical section of the middle portion of the press. Fig. 5 is a detailvertical section showing the position of the dies after pressure isapplied. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the frame for holding the slideplate and. sieve. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the slide plate.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1915.

Serial No. 803,011.

I The press in which the tile are made is in lts general constructionthe ordinary hand press for making tile and the like, and comprisesstandards 1, 1, carrying a bed plate 2 fixed thereon, upon the centralportion of which is mounted the stationary lower plunger 3. Mountedaround this lower plunger and inclosing it on all four sides is themovable die box 4, which die box with the top of the stationary lowerplunger comprises the sides, ends and bottom of the die. The lowerplunger is held in position by the screw 5, mounted in the bed plate,and different patterns for the tile may be readily formed by changingthe die.

The movable die box 1 is provided with ears 6, 6, at the front and rear,and the box is supported in position by vertical rods 7 7, which passdown through openings in the bed plate and arecarried by the cross head8, mounted on a plunger 9. The lower end of this plunger 9 is seated ina guiding socket 10 at the bottom of the framework, and the plunger 9with the movable die box is raised or lowered by foot levers 11 and 12.One of these foot levers, as 12, is mounted on a rock shaft 18, carryingan arm 14: coupled to the plunger with a slotted connection, and theother lever 11 is pivotally mounted at 15, and the inner end of thislever engages a crank arm 16 on the rock shaft. With this construction,when the foot lever 12 is depressed, the die box will be raised, andwhen the foot lever 11 is depressed, the die box will be lowered.Mounted in the overhead cross frame 17 supported by the side standards18, is a powerful screw 19, operated by a hand wheel 20. The lower endof this screw is coupled to the plunger 21, which carries the topper 22.

Mounted on the movable die box is a frame shown in perspective in Fig.6. This frame is made up of side bars 23, 23, formed with overhanginginwardly projecting flanges 24, 24, and held together at one end by thecross piece 25, which also serves as a stop and near the other end by across piece 26. Stops 27, 27 are secured near the outer end of thelongitudinal bars 23. Mounted to slide between these cross bars in thechannel formed by the flanges 24, 2/1, is a slide plate 28 of thethickness required for the layer of glaze which is to be applied to theclay in the die. This slide plate is tion of the clay,

from over the die box and clay is the die. The slide plate 28 is thenpushed pushed forward over the provided with a central opening 29, of asize to register with the size of the die, and also with a handle 30 atone end and a guiding cross piece .31 at the other. Resting upon andcarried by the sliding plate 28 is the sieve box 32 for the glaze. Thisbox is provided with the sieve 33, which is located some distance abovethe bottom edge of the sides of the box, and underneath the sieve aseries of plates 3-1 are arranged transverse the box, which extend tothe bottom edge and form scrapers, as will be explaine p The front andrearside walls of the movable die box 4 are provided with a series ofholes 35, 35, which extend from inside the die out through the sidewalls. When the box is in its normal position for the receptheseopenings extend inside the die, but when pressure is applied and the diebox depressed, as will be described, these openings are carried belowthe top surface of the lower plunger 3. With this apparatus, I proceedto mold the clay andthetile, The slide plate 28 is withdrawn placedlnwardly to bring the opening 29 in register with the die box whichlevels off the clay, by pushing the surplus over the edge of the die boxand the plate then gives the thickness forthe layer of glaze. The glazeis placed in the sieve box 32, and the box opening 29. By shaking thebox, the glaze is sifted through the sieve, filling up the space formedby'the side walls of the opening 29. .The sieve box is then withdrawn onthe slide plate, and the scraper plates 34 with the end wall of the boxscrape the surplus glaze smooth and level with the top of the plate 28.It is quite important that this glaze should be properly leveled off,for the reason that if the end wall of the sieve box 32 were alonerelied on for thispurpose, the glaze would be rolled or gathered up asthe box was withdrawn, and an even top surface would not result. It willbe understood that the glaze v is not absolutely dry, but containssufficient moisture to pack, and consequently in smoothingoif therewould be a tendency for the surplus to roll up or gather some of thematerial below the top surface. For

this reason, it is important to see to it that the surface ofv the glazeis properly leveled,

. which I accomplish by the series ofscrapers 34c. The clay and glazehaving thus been deposited in the die, with the glaze as a layer on topof the clay, the operator works 7 the wheel 20. to bring the topper 22to bear cause: this patent maybe' obtained for glazed materialsimultaneously for' on the movable die box. This pressure compresses theclay and glaze into the form desired, the pressure acting between thetopper 22 and the lower plunger 3. Under this pressure, the die box 4 ispushed down, bringing the openings 35 below the surface of the lowerplunger 3. When the first pressure is applied by the hand wheel, the airwhich is entrapped in the clay is forced out through the openings 35,while after the material is under full compression, the openings arebrought below the lower plunger 3, and none of the material can beforced out. This construction under which I provide the air passages isa very important feature, and these air openings 35 may be arranged onall four sides of the die. Heretofore no provision has been made for therelease of the air entrained in the clay, and the pressure causes windblown tile, the air forming a stratified structure instead of a granularstructure, and the material is no longer properly bonded as a whole. Inthe case where glaze is applied as herein described, the means providedfor allowing for the escape of air prevents the compressed air forming amixture of the clay and glaze, which is destructive to the finishedproduct. By taking care that the layer of glaze is sifted into positionon the clay and properly leveled off without rolling up the top surfaceand making provision for the escape of the air, by providing lateralpassageways, I have discovered that I can compress the glaze and claysimultaneously in the die, and with a single firing perfect glazed tileare obtained. After the tile are thus formed in the die, they aresubjected to heat in the kiln in the usual way, and thus the expense ofhandling and refiring, as heretofore required, is entirely obviated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

The method of manufacturing glazed tile, which consists in depositingthe powdered clay in a die, sifting a substantial layer of glazethereon, smoothing off the top surface of the glaze, compressing the twomaterials to form a tile, at the same time first permitting theentrained air to escape laterally at points opposite the body of tile,thus preventing any disturbance of the glaze, then before finalcompression cutting off the air escape, and then firing the tile in akiln to form the finished article.

, OTTO METZNER.

Witnesses:

ROBERT P. HARcrrT,

ANNA F. DIENST.

flve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 'waghington,D. 0.

